A road less traveled

“Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost

When the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence they took the road less traveled – and what a difference it has made! We may be about to embark on another less traveled road and I wonder if we have any idea where it may lead. It has been traditional in U.S. politics for an incoming administration to more or less ignore the possible transgressions of their predecessors. Barack Obama has indicated that he may not follow that precedent. He has said he will have his Attorney General (whoever that may be) look into the question of criminality on the part of the Bush/Cheney administration. This will truly be a road less traveled. And what a difference it may make! Unless Obama doesn’t follow through on this, or unless his Attorney General can generate a miracle, there is no doubt there will be plenty of criminal activity to investigate, not the least of which will be war crimes on a large scale. But there is great danger lurking here as so many individuals from both parties have been complicit in such crimes. The only realistic possibility, it seems to me, will be to go after the major ringleaders, those who planned and brought about these crimes. They are well known: Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Rove, Perle, Addington, Libby, Wolfowitz, and a few others. Ideally, those most responsible for what has happened in Iraq should be turned over to the Hague and tried, just as the Nazi war criminals were tried. Is this likely to happen? I think not. Will anything happen at all? I should think it will have to. Even if Obama and his administration might prefer to overlook these crimes, as oncoming administrations have done in the past, I should think world opinion will keep them from doing so. After all, the whole world has been watching, and they all know what has happened, and the Obama administration will have to deal with them. The U.S. has sunk so low in world opinion I cannot see how we could ever become respectable again without taking action against those responsible for these atrocities. This will be, indeed, a road less traveled. I suspect a road much rockier and more dangerous than any we have faced since our famous revolution of 1776. Of course we could elect John McCain and just let the crimes continue. If not, I sincerely hope Mr. Obama has “girded his loins,” and is fully prepared for an unprecedented and monumental battle.

I may be very wrong, but I believe there is a fatal flaw in our political system, and I think it stems from an oversight by the Founding Fathers. I don’t think it ever even occurred to them that a situation could, or would, arise where a relatively small group of people could simultaneously seize virtually complete control of all three branches of government, the executive, legislative, and judicial. But with the help of their corporate allies that is what the neocons accomplished, thus rendering our much vaunted checks and balances inoperative. Furthermore, I think the Founding Fathers failed to anticipate this because it never occurred to them that many American citizens would deliberately act against love of their country in favor of aspiring to personal wealth and power. Has American character changed over the years or are these neocons just a unique bunch of bad apples? They might, of course, argue they were really trying to protect the interests of the U.S. (which I do not believe as they were more interested in making profits for the oil companies). But even were we to grant them good intentions, did the ends justify the means (“war,” torture, lies, deceit, etc.)? I, for one, do not believe so.

LKBIQ:
“Our character…is an omen of our destiny, and the more integrity we have and keep, the simpler and nobler that destiny.”
George Santayana